spinning drum blog

A follow-up to his The Intergalactic Slapstick full-length, the Steel Trap EP has Liquid Stranger (aka Martin Stääf) putting the emphasis back on to the dub in dub-step.

It really is in the balance between the two where Liquid Stranger excels. Steel Trap EP, featuring two remixes and three new tracks, cleanly blends plenty of old school effects and samples with all the heavy-weight woofer dub-step can offer. The bass-centric clarity and originality of his mixes are what’s earning Liquid Stranger the Mad Professor comparisons, and likewise through all the low frequency force, found in serious amplitude in “Aftershock,” Steel Trap’s reggae roots are what remain front and centre – the mainstay in fact of “Deep Down Below” and “Rough Road.” The EP wraps up with an ethno-ambient number “Sincerely Yours,” which while gorgeous downtempo comes out of nowhere and succeeds in mostly reminding us this is an Interchill release.

by Romina Wendell
(originally published in Exclaim)

Sounding like christmas on the club floor, the expansive and ultra energetic quality of “Rodux’s “ Iron Fan” exudes a thickly layered tech-house tribalism that’s kept within the minimal genre by its underlying dubby throb.

While “Iron Fan’s” big room bounce is unbreakable, this EP sports 4 remixes in which each producer takes a decidedly different turn. The first from Rodux himself strips the track down to a chunky tech-house gallop. Joe Silva gets it down to hard-edged techno basics, and Edgar De Ramon funkifies and hammers away in a progressive tech-house stomper. Chris Fortier brings on the after-party version, which smoothly lightens the whole track up while at the same time most closely resembles the original, and Rodux winds it all down with the deep and dubby Rhythm-and-Sound like “Orchids.”
Thoughtless Music
by Romina Wendell
(originally published in Exclaim)

Filled with jumpy beats that dart through 12 eclectic nu-jazz tracks that hover between global house and techno, Future Sound of Jazz 11 pumps the tempo and spirit up a notch. Compiled by Compost founder and owner Michael Reinboth, who started in 1994 handpicking up-and-coming nu-jazz artists from across the globe, number 11 more than ever marries big sound with fresh vibe. Grabbing your attention immediately with the stand-up groove of the nu-jazz string arrangement “Salome” by Joash, followed by the bumping Latin percussion of Christian Prommer’s tech-jazz rework of Koop’s “Drum Rhythm A,” the whole thing unfolds into a jostling celebration of rhythms and flavors from every genre. Dennis Ferrar makes old skool keyboards and the house shuffle new again with “Son of Raw,” and No Theory’s “Strictly Instrumental” brings a minimal tech drive to the nu-jazz stream. Whether broken, glitched-out, tuba-laced or steadfast, FSOJ11 maintains a solid groove, and through all the head bopping pleasantries, there are enough edgy tracks to remind the listener they are still being privy to some sophisticated rarities.
www.compost-records.com